The CHS wrestling team got a taste of international experience last week with a visit from 14 athletes from Japan.
The Japanese National Wrestling Team is visiting Michigan for 12 days and stopping at four different high schools as part of a Japan-USA cultural exchange wrestling program.
The program was coordinated by Masauki Hatta, who said he has been involved with the program officially since 1998. Hatta said Michigan is only one of six states that participate in the program. Restrictions only allow the team to visit two states a year, so trips to Michigan only happen once every three years. Although Hatta remarked restrictions on the program now are nowhere near what they were over 40 years ago.
‘It was hard to get out of the country because of government restrictions,? Hatta said.
Hatta worked with Rick Detkowski, former wrestling coach at CHS, to coordinate the program with the CHS team.
Detkowski , who remains an active assistant to the wrestling team, says despite cultural differences, the students are able to communicate and are very similar.
‘They’re all teenagers,? Detkowski said.’The Japanese seem to be a little more respectful of their elders when they are around their elders.?
The exchange students spent Jan. 5 in school at CHS, partnered with a CHS student whom they would be staying with for their time in the Clarkston area. After school the, teams practiced together and held an exhibition meet on Jan. 6 at 6 p.m.
Most of the exchange students spoke little-to-no English, but that did not matter when time came to practice. Stepping aside from their usual routine, the CHS wrestling coaches let the exchange students run practice in the manner they saw fit.
‘It broke the monotony of our practices,? said Coach Joe DeGain.
American high schools wrestle folkstyle, while the international standard is freestyle. DeGain said as a compromise between the two styles, the CHS team practiced for a day in freestyle and the Japanese team would wrestle folkstyle in the exhibition matchup.
‘They focus a lot more on flexibility,’DeGain said comparing the Japanese athletes to Gumby. DeGain noted there was visibly more muscle tension for CHS wrestlers performing the same maneuvers as the Japanese team.
The Jan. 5 joint practice began with subtle awe from CHS team members, as their Japanese counterparts performed handstands and walked on their hands as part of the warm-up. The Wolves followed suit, with limited success in emulating the maneuverability of their guests.
As practice continued, wrestlers broke into pairs and sparred off against one another. The language barrier meant nothing as the students found ways to give and receive advice from one another as they worked on their techniques.
Two tiring hours later, practice came to an end with both teams benefitting from seeing how the other side of the world lives, learns and wrestles.